Management of Thoracic and Cardiac Trauma: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Patients with cardiac and thoracic trauma remain one of the most difficult presentations to diagnose and treat in an emergency room setting. Here, we present our series of four cases of cardiac and thoracic trauma with varied presentations, including lung, vascular, and diaphragmatic injuries that were managed successfully. We further review the manifestations of cardiac trauma, including cardiac contusions, cardiac rupture, pericardial injury, and valvular injuries; thoracic trauma, including lung and diaphragmatic injury.

Hyperammonemia in lung transplant patients and its management: a review.

Objective: To synthesize the evidence for incidence, pathophysiology, etiology, and protocol-based management of hyperammonemia in lung transplant patients.

Background: Elevated ammonia levels are toxic to the brain, and hyperammonemia results in a potentially fatal complication for lung transplant recipients. The hallmark of this condition is ammonia production being way out of proportion to the degree of liver derangement.

Association of pre-admission opioid abuse and/or dependence on major complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients.

Setting: In the last few decades, an opioid related health crisis has been a challenging problem in many countries around the world, especially the United States. Better understanding of the association of pre-admission opioid abuse and/or dependence (POAD) on specific major complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients can aid the medical team in improving patient care management and outcomes.

Study Objective: Our goal is to assess and quantify the risk of POAD on in-hospital mortality and major complications in TBI patients.

Sudden cardiac death: epidemiology, pathogenesis and management.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an unexpected sudden death due to a heart condition, that occurs within one hour of symptoms onset. SCD is a leading cause of death in western countries, and is responsible for the majority of deaths from cardiovascular disease. Moreover, SCD accounts for mortality in approximately half of all coronary heart disease patients.

Optical Density Optimization of Malaria Pan Rapid Diagnostic Test Strips for Improved Test Zone Band Intensity.

For the last few decades, the immunochromatographic assay has been used for the rapid detection of biological markers in infectious diseases in humans and animals The assay, also known as lateral flow assay, is utilized for the detection of antigen or antibody in human infectious diseases. There are a series of steps involved in the development of these immuno-chromatographic test kits, from gold nano colloids preparation to nitrocellulose membrane coating (NCM). These tests are mostly used for qualitative assays by a visual interpretation of results.

Retrograde Intussusception after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass.

Retrograde intussusception (RI), although relatively uncommon, has been increasingly seen in adults post Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. The exact mechanism for its occurrence remains unknown but several theories have attributed it to bowel persialtic dysmotility. The increase in bariatric surgery over the last decade has resulted in a proportionate increase in the number of cases of intussusception seen globally.

WITHDRAWN: Hyperammonemia Following Lung Transplant Is a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenge: A Case Report.

Available online 14 February 2020. This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

Anxiety during alcohol withdrawal involves 5-HT2C receptors and M-channels in the lateral habenula.

Anxiety disorders often co-occur with alcohol use disorders, but the mechanisms underlying this comorbidity remain elusive. Previously, we reported that rats withdrawn from chronic alcohol consumption (Post-EtOH rats) exhibited robust anxiety-like behaviors (AB), which were accompanied by neuronal hyperexcitability, and the downregulation of M-type potassium channels (M-channels) in the lateral habenula (LHb); and that serotonin (5-HT) stimulated LHb neurons via type 2C receptors (5-HTRs). Also, 5-HTR activation is known to inhibit M-current in mouse hypothalamic neurons.

Tension Pneumothorax During Rigid Bronchoscopy for Chronic Foreign Body Removal in a Child: A Case Report.

Rigid bronchoscopy for chronic foreign body removal can cause rare but life-threatening complications in the form of tension pneumothorax. A two-year-old child who developed sudden cardiac arrest during the procedure required urgent chest tube insertion. Integrated team effort with effective communication prevented devastating neurological sequelae from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

Intraoperative Catastrophe during Benign Mediastinal Tumor Mass Excision: A Case Report.

Mature teratoma of the mediastinum poses a significant surgical challenge due to close vicinity to vital structures causing respiratory insufficiency or hemodynamic compromise. While the malignant variety of germ cell tumors (GCT) generally present with florid symptoms, benign teratomas are detected incidentally on imaging. Large teratomas presenting as mediastinal mass syndrome have additional difficulty in airway access.

Alcohol withdrawal drives depressive behaviors by activating neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus.

Rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) GABA neurons exert a primary inhibitory drive onto midbrain dopamine neurons and are excited by a variety of aversive stimuli. There is, however, little evidence that the RMTg-ventral tegmental area (VTA)-nucleus accumbens shell (Acb) circuit plays a role in the aversive consequences of alcohol withdrawal. This study was performed in adult male Long-Evans rats at 48-h withdrawal from chronic alcohol drinking in the intermittent schedule.

Neurobiology of Propofol Addiction and Supportive Evidence: What Is the New Development?

Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic agent suitable for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia as well as for procedural and intensive care unit sedation. As such it has become an unparalleled anesthetic agent of choice in many institutional and office practices. However, in addition to its idealistic properties as an anesthetic agent, there is accumulating evidence suggesting its potential for abuse.